26 July 1998,
22 years since Donald battle Atherton
The match was the debut for future allrounder and 2005 Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff.England on the quest for 247 lost Butcher cheaply on the Nottingham track. Then Hussain joined Atherton for the chase. The English opener when on 27 nicked one off the Donald’s bowling and stood his ground, this infuriated Donald.
What followed next is one of the greatest moment in cricket history.
Atherton had the last laugh as England chased down the target with eight wickets in hand. This was the then highest successful run chase at Trent Bridge surpassing West Indies 209 in 1980. This record was better by England in 2004 courtesy Graham Thrope splendid century.
The 1998 match saw Angus Fraser adjudged man of the match for his ten wickets haul performance in the match.
Skysports interviewed Donald, Atherton and Hussain in 2015 ,here is an excerpt from the interview courtesy skysports.
Hussain had the best view of the battle from the non striker end.
Hussain told sky sports ” I saw a lot of that Atherton-Donald duel from the non-striker’s end and Ath always gives me stick about it, saying I was standing on my bat taking the spinner while he took Donald! Boucher dropped me off an edge and Donald exploded in front of me and steamed down to fine leg but fair play to him, he went up to Boucher before the next over and put his arm around him.”
“It all added to the tension of what was a great battle. I have huge respect for both Atherton and Donald. It was cricket at its best – there wasn’t a lot said between the two and what was, was on the right side of the line.”
Donald on the 1998 encounter
“That spell stands out for me in what was one hell of a tight series. We’d just come off the back of a drawn Test at Manchester where I’d bowled 40 overs in the second innings after England had followed on. It was probably the hardest game I ever experienced. We only had two days’ rest before we were back on the field but I was really fired up. Going into that final innings we needed quick wickets and when Atherton gloved one to Mark Boucher but wasn’t given, temperatures quickly rose further”
“Then Nasser was dropped. That really changed everything. I got the feeling then that this was England’s Test. Rather than running through them, England got through that hot period and it was the start of our demise. I valued playing against people like Atherton very, very high because they put a high price on their wicket. You spend a lot of time figuring how you are going to knock them over, then try to make those strategies work. That’s what makes Test matches special.”
The victims speech
“I’d rank that innings, which helped to win the game and the series, up there with my 185no at the Wanderers in 1995 – an intensive personal triumph. Looking back to Johannesburg, I remember being dropped on 99 by Gary Kirsten at short leg – a very difficult chance – and then smashing Donald for four next ball and the intense feeling of relief that followed. Cricket is a team game but essentially when you have a bat or ball in your hand you are on your own so it has a gladiatorial element – one man against another.Both AD and I knew in that Nottingham game that whoever came out on top that evening would go on and win the game so all emotions were heightened in front of a full-house. There was the drama of the appeal for a glove behind and Nasser being dropped. It had all of the ingredients for a very dramatic 40 minutes.”